Deck 13: Imperial China in Its Golden Age

Question 1

Which of these occupations would have been of least value in Han society?

A)landowner
B)scholar
C)farmer
D)merchant
E)government official

Answer 1

merchant

Question 2

What was the basis of individuals earning coveted positions in government through the Chinese system of standardized tests?

A)Merit.
B)Aristocracy.
C)Wealth.
D)Legalism.
E)Family name.

Answer 2

Merit.

Question 3

All of these are associated with Shih Huang-di's reign EXCEPT

A)standardized writing.
B)book-burning.
C)uniformity of roads.
D)the Great Wall.
E)development of acupuncture.

Answer 3

development of acupuncture.

Question 4

Why was the development of wet rice farming so significant for China?

A)It freed the Chinese from dependence on Vietnam for food.
B)It gave them plenty of work for the Chinese peasantry.
C)It provided a marketable product for exchange with the West.
D)It provided an increased food supply that led to a large population increase without badly damaging the economy.
E)It ensured that even during drought conditions in the western lands, the people there could still be fed.

Question 5

What was the dominant philosophical basis for Shih Huang-di's government?

A)Confucianism.
B)Legalism.
C)Daoism.
D)Buddhism.
E)Hinduism.

Question 6

Since the first century, the Chinese have been noted for

A)their excellent achievements in painting.
B)wood block printing.
C)their fully standardized system of writing.
D)studying the writings of the Legalists.
E)recording the history of their society's elite.

Question 7

During the Han Dynasty, the Chinese consciousness appears to have become rooted in the belief that

A)Westerners were inherently evil.
B)the Chinese people were the greatest society that had ever existed.
C)goods produced in the West, along with Western ideas, were of no use to the Chinese.
D)trade difficulties were insurmountable, making Chinese exclusion the only option.
E)the Chinese had a duty to share their knowledge with the rest of the civilized world.

Question 8

Which of the following was a consequence of Han Dynasty transportation improvements?

A)Growth of cities and towns.
B)More regional and isolated economy.
C)Fewer merchants.
D)Increase in social status for merchants.
E)Both B and D.

Question 9

The first Sui Dynasty 's most effective agricultural reform was the

A)landlord system, which put all land in the hands of the wealthy.
B)well-field system, which redistributed land every few years.
C)enclosure system, which separated formerly commonly held lands into individual plots.
D)socialist system, which saw all land shared equally.
E)ever-normal granary system, which set aside part of each season's crops for community use in time of famine.

Question 10

What was the main target of the First Emperor's anti-knowledge campaign?

A)Confucianism.
B)Buddhist monasteries.
C)Daoism.
D)Mongol invaders.
E)Universities.

Question 11

During which dynasty did China attain most of its current geographical size and shape?

A)Qin Dynasty.
B)Han Dynasty.
C)Song Dynasty.
D)Tang Dynasty.
E)Sui Dynasty.

Question 12

The reign of Tang Emperor Xuanzong is especially noted for

A)fending off advances from the West.
B)producing some of China's greatest poets and poetry.
C)the erection of the Great Wall.
D)the successful colonization of Vietnam.
E)the development of some of China's most remarkable architecture.

Question 13

The development most crucial for Chinese national unity was

A)a standardized written language.
B)an efficient bureaucracy.
C)the mandate of heaven.
D)the completion of the Great Wall.
E)the location of the capital at Beijing.

Question 14

In regards to government, educated Chinese long believed that

A)the mandate of heaven would cure all ills.
B)each province had the responsibility of making its own laws.
C)warlords never became effective monarchs.
D)a power-hungry ruler was better than no ruler at all.
E)Chinese peasants had the same natural rights as the wealthy.

Question 15

How would a poor peasant student be able to complete training and study for the standardized tests leading to a merit-based government position?

A)By achieving a successful military career.
B)Through conversion to Buddhism.
C)By having local villagers pay for his tutoring.
D)By becoming a famous artist.
E)Through an apprenticeship to a master politician.

Question 16

Which of the following statements is not true of Han Chinese farming?

A)An improved harness made it easier to use horses in the field.
B)The Chinese developed a systematic way to use animal manure for fertilizer.
C)Farming was confined to land already in cultivation, as the newly conquered lands to the north and west were not suitable for agriculture.
D)As iron became more available, farmers were able to increase their use of the plow.
E)For its time, Han agriculture was the most advanced in the world.

Question 17

The worst problem for all Chinese governments has been

A)its isolation.
B)its geography.
C)its mistreated peasantry.
D)barbarian invaders.
E)the mandate of heaven.

Question 18

Which of the following was NOT a scientific discovery of the Han Dynasty?

A)The stern post rudder.
B)The compass.
C)Paper.
D)Woodblock printing.
E)Bronze.

Question 19

During the Han period, Confucian scholars laid greatest stress on

A)a centralized bureaucracy.
B)the mandate of heaven.
C)mystical love.
D)poetry.
E)technological inventions.

Question 20

How did Shih Huang-di reunify China under his rule following the Era of Warring States?

A)By cooperating with Confucian mandarins.
B)He assassinated the former emperor.
C)Primarily through military conquest.
D)By allying with the Buddhists.
E)He led in the building of thousands of miles of roads.

Question 21

During the Han epoch, ____________________ was invented from wood pulp.

Question 22

In what ways did the Han Dynasty resemble the Roman Empire to its west?

A)They existed at approximately the same time.
B)Both depended on hereditary officials to carry out court orders.
C)The populations of both were mostly rural peasants.
D)Both A and B.
E)Both A and C.

Question 23

Confucian scholars magnified and legitimated the emperor's powers through the concept of the ____________________.

Question 24

During the mid-Han period, the ____________________ became a factor in rebellious unrest in China.

Question 25

Neo-Confucianism was the revival of Confucianism, updated to meet the challenge posed by ____________________.

Question 26

The civilization most amenable to Chinese culture was that of

A)Vietnam.
B)Japan.
C)the Philippines.
D)Korea.
E)Tibet.

Question 27

Mathematics, fine arts, geography, astronomy, history, and medicine were some of the high points in advanced developments during the ____________________ Dynasty.

Question 28

What was one of the main purposes of the well-field reform that resulted in regular reallocation of land every few years during the Tang Dynasty?

A)To ensure good land for the nobility.
B)To ensure good land for the peasants.
C)To make allowance for changes in the population distribution.
D)To tame the influx of foreign landed nobility.
E)To make sure the tenant peasants would remain on the land and produce food for urban workers.

Question 29

One of the reasons for China's historical success and longevity as a civilization rested on the generally efficient bureaucracy that was firmly based on ____________________ and ____________________.

Question 30

The Han government can best be described as

A)small.
B)simple.
C)aristocratic.
D)complex.
E)None of the options are correct.

Question 31

Which was different about Buddhism by the time it arrived in China?

A)It had evolved into a highly ritualistic and impersonal philosophy.
B)It had become similar to Daoism, in that it, too, stressed proper thought and action just for the sake of doing the right thing.
C)It had become more of a true faith, promising its adherents a happy eternal life.
D)Most people viewed it with some alarm, because it had begun to deify the Buddha.
E)It was no longer as tolerant of other belief systems as it had been in India.

Question 32

Chinese scholar-officials who were educated in Confucian ideals were called ____________________.

Question 33

In 1974, the tomb of Shih Huang-di, containing 7,000 ____________________, was discovered at Sian.

Question 34

The Tang Dynasty prospered for how long?

A)20 years
B)150 years
C)300 years
D)500 years
E)1000 years

Question 35

Wet rice agriculture came to China from which country?

A)Korea.
B)Japan.
C)Vietnam.
D)India.
E)Indonesia.

Question 36

The "burning of the books" took place under the rule of ____________________.

Question 37

What was the greatest single cultural influence on China during the first millennium C.E.?

A)Printing.
B)Neo-Confucianism.
C)Legalism.
D)Buddhism.
E)Gunpowder.

Question 38

The Han emperors adopted ____________________ as China's leading philosopher.

Question 39

The poet Li Po is associated most with

A)Daoism.
B)Legalism.
C)Confucianism.
D)Buddhism.
E)Moism.

Question 40

A Chinese mandarin official would best be described as having been

A)more concerned with his philosophical development than with participating actively in the government.
B)a skilled artist and poet, but also a hard-nosed businessman.
C)educated for the sole purpose of achieving power.
D)more of an ideal than a reality.
E)steeped in his society's culture, yet filled with civic duty.

Question 41

Term for identification: Sui dynasty

Question 42

Why is the Tang Dynasty known as the Golden Age of Chinese history?

Question 43

Term for identification: Han

Question 44

Assess the impact of the Buddhist faith on Chinese civilization.

Question 45

Term for identification: meritocracy

Question 46

Term for identification: mandarin

Question 47

Elaborate on the technological achievements of China from the Qin through the Tang Dynasty.

Question 48

Term for identification: Mahayana

Question 49

Term for identification: Li Po, Du Fu, and Wang Wei

Question 50

Compare and contrast Confucianism and Legalism, both as philosophies and as political systems. Explain why you think certain emperors embraced one or the other of these concepts at various times.

Question 51

List and discuss the achievements of the Han emperors. Elaborate on mathematics, the economy, geography, astronomy, medicine, history, and the fine arts in your response.

Question 52

Term for identification: well-field reforms

Question 53

Term for identification: Era of the Warring States

Question 54

Term for identification: Burning of the Books

Question 55

Term for identification: First Emperor

Question 56

The reign of the First Emperor Shih Huang-di saw many notable accomplishments in government, military, and technology. Discuss the various aspects of these accomplishments and consider whether their outcomes were positive or negative for China.